Tuesday, May 27. 2008

The apparent reason is to stop hyperconnected people ruining a family day out for the rest of the family by mainlining on their crackberry. This trend is also ceen in Cinemas in the UK, where Orange sponsors high production value "don't let the phone ruin your movie" ads. And in the US, as Ars Tech notes:

There seems to be a new interest in some parts of the world to set a few boundaries around how and where technology is used in public. Movie theaters in the US, for example, have kept up with the times by displaying pre-film warnings about silencing phones and conversations. Some carriers like AT&T have begun sponsoring new "silence your phone" promos with high production values.

The airlines, sadly, are going counter-trend and hope to add money by opening up mobile conversations in 'planes, though even there it looks like most people are appalled by the idea.

Its interesting how new social norms emerge - rather than a consensus among a "social network" of users, it requires some form of authority to drive rules that people by and large agrees with. I wonder if there will ever be a backlash against the corporate "always on" culture?

And from now on, take your laptop to Alton Towers - that's not banned yet

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